HOMES  FOR  THE  HOMELESS. 

- -*«**-» - - 

WHAT  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 

EtA-S  IDOIbTIE;  3TOK, 

T53IS  POOR  IMI.A.3sr_ 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNION  REPUBLICAN  CONGRESSIONAL  COMMITTEE,  WASITNGTOIT,  D.  C. 


No  more  important  act  to  the  poor  man, 
■whom  it  was  intended  exclusively  to  bene¬ 
fit,  was  ever  enacted  by  CcHgres3  than  the 
Homestead  Law,  which  originated  with, 
and  was  passed  by,  the  votes  of  the  repub¬ 
lican  members  ol  the  Thirty-Seventh  Con¬ 
gress.  Enacted  during  the  dark  days  of 
the  Rebellion,  at  a  time  when  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  the  laboring  men  of  both  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country  were  arrayed  in  dead¬ 
ly  hostility  to  each  other,  it  has  failed  to 
attract  that  attention,  especially  in  the 
Southern  communities,  which  its  great  im¬ 
portance  demands. 

The  result  ot  the  rebellion  in  the  eman¬ 
cipation  of  the  slaves  of  the  South,  the  en¬ 
actments  of  Congress  whereby  these  for¬ 
mer  bondmen  have  been  made  citizens  of 
our  great  Republic,  and  the  amendment  of 
the  original  Homestead  Act  of  1862,  so  as 
io  confer  its  benefits  on  all  who  may  choose 


to  avail  themselves  of  the  same,  irrespec¬ 
tive  of  race  or  color,  has  greatly  increased 
its  importance  by  opening  up  a  channel 
through  which  maybe  reached  and  peima- 

nently  benefited  a  large  class  of  industrious, 
law-abiding  citizens,  not  contemplated  as 
coming  under  its  benign  operations  at  the 
time  of  its  adoption.  In  order,  therefore, 
that  this  law  may  become  better  known  and 
more  widely  disseminated  among  that  class 
it  is  destined  to  so  greatly  benefit,  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  explain  its  provisions 
in  the  form  of  a  simple  dialogue,  whereir 
every  section  and  amendment  is  made  sc 
plain  that  all  may  learn  how  to  proceed  tc 
avail  themselves  of  the  benificent  offer  thus 
proffered  by  a  still  more  benificent  govern¬ 
ment  through  the  votes  of  the  Representa¬ 
tives  of  the  great  National  Republican 
Party  in  Congress. 


2 


Q.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  Home¬ 
stead  Law  ? 

A.  It  is  an  Act  originally  passed  by  the 
Republican  members  of  the  Thirty-Seventh 
Congress,  afterwards  amended  by  members 
of  the  same  party  May  20th,  1864,  and 
March  21st,  1866,  grantinga  portion  of  the 
Public  Lands  to  actual  settlers. 

Q.  Who  are  entitled  to  its  benefits  ? 

A.  The  intention  of  the  framers  and  sup¬ 
porters  of  this  law  designed  it  as  a  benefit 
to  the  poor  man,  but  any  person  who  is  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  who  has 
declared  his  intention  to  become  such  un¬ 
der  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
is — 

First — The  head  of  a  family,  whether 
male  or  female  ; 

Second — Who  has  arrived  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  ; 

Third — Who  has  served  in  the  army  or 
navy  of  the  United  States  during  actual 
war,  for  at  least  fourteen  days,  (whether 
twenty-one  years  of  age  or  not,)  and  who 
has  never  borne  arms  against  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  given  aid 
and  comfort  to  its  enemies,  are  entitled  to 
its  benefits.  This  last  clause,  however, 
has  been  so  amended  as  to  allow  those  who 
.  were  enemies  to  the  government  during  the 
late  slave-holder’s  rebellion  to  avail  them¬ 
selves  of  its  benefits. 

Q.  What  amount  of  land  does  this  law 
grant  to  actual  settlers  ? 

A.  One  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  or  a 
less  quantity,  of  the  surveyed  public  lands 
of  the  United  States.  The  land  must  be 
in  a  compact  body,  and  in  conformity  to 
the  lines  of  the  public  surveys,  unoccupied 
and  subject  to  entry  under  the  pre-emption 
laws,  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  acre.  What  is  called  double  minimum 
or  Railroad  Reserved  Sections,  may  be 
taken  at  the  double  minimum  rates,  that  is, 
eighty  acres  of  two  dollar  and  fifty  cent 
land  may  be  taken  in  place  of  the  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  acres  at  one  dollar  and  twen¬ 
ty-five  cents  per  acre. 

Q.  Can  a  person  secure  more  than  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  these  lands  ? 

A.  No.  But  any  person  owning  and  re¬ 
siding  on  land  may  enter  contiguous  land, 
which,  with  that  already  owned  and  occu¬ 
pied,  must  not  exceed  in  the  aggregate  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres. 

Q.  What  steps  should  be  taken  to  secure 
the  benefits  of  this  law  ? 

A.  An  applicant  for  the  benefits  of  the 
Homestead  Law  is  required  to  file  with  the 
Register  of  the  United  States  local  Land 


Office,  for  the  District  in  which  he  desire3 
to  locate  lands,  his  application  as  follows  : 

(Form  A.) 

II  0  M  E  S  T  FAD. 

Application  ]_  j  Land  Office  at - , 

No.—,  j  j  - 186  .' 

I, - ,  of - ,  do  hereby  apply  to 

enter,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of 
Congress  approved  May  20th,  1862,  enti¬ 
tled  “  An  Act  to  secure  Homesteads  to  ac¬ 
tual  settlers  on  the  public  domain,  ”  the 

- section - in  Township  - 

of  range - ,  containing - acres. 

[In  pre-emption  cases  the  following  should 
be  added  : 

“  Having  filed  my  pre-emption  declara¬ 
tion  thereon  on - day  of - ,  186  .”] 

(Signature  of  Applicant. 

On  filing  such  application  the  Register 
of  the  Land  Office  will  issue  to  you  the  fol 
lowing  certificate  : 

(Form  B.) 

HOMESTEAD. 

Certificate  )  J  Land  Office  at - , 

No.—,  j  j  — : - 186  . 

I, - ,  Register  of  the  Land  Office, 

do  certify  hereby  that  the  above  application 
is  for  surveyed  lands  of  the  class  which  the 
applicant  is  legally  entitled  to  enter  under 
the  Homestead  Act  of  May  20th,  1862, 
and  that  thero  is  no  prior,  valid,  adverse 

right  to  the  same. - , 

Register. 

There  are  one  or  two  other  blank  forms 
necessary,  which  I  will  proceed  to  give  you 
as  follows : 

(Form  C.) 

HO  M  E  S  T  E  A  D  . 

Land  Office  at - ,  { 

- 186  .  ) 

I, - ,  of - ,  having  filed  my  ap¬ 
plication  No. - ,  for  an  entry  under  the 

provisions  of  an  Act  of  Congress,  approv¬ 
ed  May  20th,  1862,  entitled  “An  Act  to 
secure  Homesteads  fo  actual  settlers  on  the 
public  domain,  ”  do  solemnly  swear,  that 
[Here  state  whether  you  are  the  head  of  a 
family,  or  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  ; 
whether  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or 
have  filed  your  declaration  of  intention 
of  becoming  such  ;  or,  if  under  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  that  you  have  serv¬ 
ed  not  less  than  fourteen  days  in  the 


army  or  navy  ;  that  said  Application  No. 

- is  made  for  your  exclusive  benefit ; 

and  that  said  entry  is  made  for  the  purpose 
of  actual  settlement  and  cultivation,  and 
not,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  the  use  or 
benefit  of  any  other  person  or  persons 
whomsoever.] 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed,  this  - - day 

of  — — ,  186  ,  before 

—————  1 

(Register  or  Receiver,)  of  the  Land  Office. 

(Form  D.) 

HOMESTEAD. 

Receiver’s  Receipt, )  f  Application 
No  — ,  j  (  No. — . 

Receiver's  Office  at - ,  ) 

~  - 186.  J 

Received  of - the  sum  of - 

dollars  and - cents,  being  the  amount 

of  fee,  and  one-half  the  compensation  of 

Register  and  Receiver,  for  entry  of - 

section,  - in  Township -  of  range 

- ,  under  the  Act  of  Congress  entitled 

*  An  Act  to  secure  Homesteads  to  actual 
settlers  on  the  public  domain.  ” 

- ,  Receiver. 

Q.  How  long  must  one  reside  on  this 
land  before  receiving  a  title  or  deed  to  it 
from  the  government? 

A.  Five  years  settlement  and  cultivation 
is  required  by  the  law  ;  but  if  the  settler 
so  desire,  he  may,  after  settlement  and  cul¬ 
tivation  of  the  tract  as  entered  above,  prove 
such  settlement  by  disinterested  witnesses 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office,  when  he  will  have 
the  right  to  pay  for  the  same,  instead  of 
waiting  five  years  for  his  title  as  provided 
in  the  law. 

Q.  To  whom  is  this  money  paid  ? 

A.  It  is  paid  to  the  Receiver  of  the  Land 
Office  of  the  District  in  which  the  land  is 
located.  Upon  its  payment  the  Receiver 
will  issue  to  you  the  following  certificate  : 

Certificate  1  f  Application 

No.—,  }  [  No.—. 

Land  Office  at - ,  1 

‘ - 186  .  J 

It  is  hereby  certified,  That,  pursuant  to 
the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  ap¬ 
proved  May  20th,  1862,  entitled  An  Act 
to  secure  Homesteads  to  actual  settlers  on 

the  public  domain,  ” - has  made 

payment  in  full  for - of  section , 

in  township - ,  of  range  - ,  contain¬ 
ing  - acres. 

Now,  therefore,  be  it  known,  That  on 
presentation  of  this  certificate  to  the  Com¬ 


missioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  the 

said - shall  be  entitled  to  a  patent 

for  the  tract  of  land  above  described. 

- ,  Receiver. 

Q.  What  is  a  patent? 

A.  A  patent  is  the  deed  issued  by  the 
(government  through  the  Commission'er  cf 
the  General  Land  Office,  vffiose  office  is  in 
Washington  City,  and  who  has  charge  of 
all  the  lands  belonging  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States. 

Q.  Is  it  necessary  to  go  to  Washington 
to  secure  this  patent  or  deed  ? 

A.  Not  .at  all.  It  will  be  sent  by  mail 
to  the  Register  of  the  Land  Office  in  the 
District  in  which  your  land  is  located,  or 
to  your  own  address  if  you  so  desire  it,  af¬ 
ter  having  paid  the  necessary  fees. 

Q.  Does  the  government  make  no  charge 
whatever  for  the  land,  or  for  the  trouble 
and  expense  of  conveying  it  to  settlers  ? 

A.  Yes,  a  small  sum.  The  fee  required 
to  be  paid  on  a  Homestead  entry  is  ten  dol¬ 
lars  for  the  use  of  the  government,  and  one 
per  cent,  commissions  to  each  of  the  offi¬ 
cers — the  Register  and  the  Receiver — on 
the  value  of  the  land,  at  $1,25  or  $2,50  per 
acre,  as  the  case  may  be.  For  instance, 
one  huudre’d  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  at 
$1,25  per  acre,  is  $200.  One  per  cent  on 
this  amount  is  $2,00,  and  as  the  Register 
and  Receiver  are  to  receive  $2,00  each,  it 
makes  your  land  cost,  with  the  $10  paid 
for  the  use  of  the  government,  $14.  To 
be  added  to  this,  however,  is  $4,00  more, 
$2,00  to  the  Register  and  $2,00  to  the  Re¬ 
ceiver,  for  the  cost  in  issuing  the  patent, 
making  the  total  cost  of  the  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  but  $18,00. 

The  following  tabular  forms  will  perhaps 
give  you  a  clearer  idea  of  the  fees  necessary 
to  be  paid  in  the  different  States  in  which  pub¬ 
lic  lands  may  be  secured  under  the  Home¬ 
stead  Law.  For  homestead  entries  on  sur¬ 
veyed  lands  in  Michigan,  Wiscousin,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Nebraska  and 
Dakota,  fees  are  to  be  paid  according  to  the 
following  table : 


Acres. 

Price  per  acre. 

Commissions. 

Fees. 

'S  ® 

2  G 

~  O 

©  g 

n  s 

Payable 
when 
entry  is 
made. 

Payable 
on  issue  of 
Patent 

Payable 
when 
entry  is 
made. 

160*1  25 

$4  03 

$6  00 

$10  00 

$18  00 

80 

1  25 

2  00 

3  00 

5  00 

9  00 

40 

1  25 

1  00 

1  50 

5  00 

7  00 

80 

2  50 

4  00 

6  00 

10  00 

18  CO 

40,  2  50 

2  00 

3  00 

5  00 

9  00 

In  the  Pacific  States  and  other  political  di 
visons,  viz  :  On  surveyed  lands  in  California 


4 


* 


Nevada,  Oregon,  Colorado,  New  Mexico, 
and  Washington,  and  in  Arizona,  Idaho, 
and  Montana,  where  subdivisional  surveys 
shall  have  been  made  in  the  three  last-men¬ 
tioned  Territories  the  commission  and  fees 
are  to  be  paid  according  to  the  following 
table  : 


Acres. 

Price  pea  aero. 

Coumissioxs. 

Fszs. 

_ 

1 

Total  Poes  and 

Commissions. 

• 

Payable 
when 
entry  is 
made. 

Payable 
on  issue  of 
Patent. 

Payable 
when 
entry  is 
made. 

1G0 

$1  25 

$0  00 

§6  00 

$10  00 

$22  00 

80 

1  25 

3  00 

3  00 

5  00 

11  CO 

’  40 

1  25 

1  50 

1  50 

5  00 

8  00 

80 

2  50 

6  00 

6  00 

10  00 

22  00 

40 

2  50 

3  00  . 

3  00 

5  00 

11  00 

SOUTHERN  LAND  STATES. 


m 

<L 

O 

< 

Price  per  acre. 

CoMMISHO’S. 

Fees. 

4-* 

o 

EH 

Payable 
at  date  of 
..gentry. 

Payable 
when  en¬ 
try  is  con¬ 
summated 

Payable 
when 
patent  is¬ 
sues. 

so 

$1  25 

$2  00 

$2  00 

$5  00 

$9  00 

40 

1  25 

1  00 

1  00 

5  00 

7  00 

40 

2  20 

2  00 

2  00 

5  00 

9  00 

Q.  In  cases  where  settlers  are  indebted, 
after  securing  a  title,  can  claimants  come 
forward,,  procure  judgment,  and  take  pos¬ 
session  of  your  land  ? 

A.  No.  A  wise  provision  of  this  law 
protects  the  homestead  thus  secured  from  all 
debts  contracted  prior  to  the  issue  of  the 
patent. 

Q.  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  that  it 
required  a  five  years’  residence  on,  and  cul¬ 
tivation  of  these  lands  to  secure  a  pat¬ 
ent  ? 

A.  Yes,  unless  paid  for  under  the  8tli  sec¬ 
tion  of  the  act  as  above  explained.  An  aban¬ 
donment  for  more  than  six  months  within 
the  five  years  residence  required  is  cause  of 
forfeiture. 

Q.  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  settler, 
can  the  land  be  disposed  of? 

A.  Yes ;  it  may  be  sold  for  the  benefit 
of  the  infant  heirs,  but  for  no  dlher  purpose. 
Where  but  one  parent  dies,  the  heirs  may 
continue  the  settlementand  cultivation,  and 
obtain  title  upon  requisite  proof  at  the 
proper  time.  Pre-emptions  upon  surveyed 
$1.25  lands  may  be  transmuted  into  home¬ 
steads  if  no  other  rights  shall  have  inter¬ 
vened. 

Q.  What  is  a  pre-emption  right? 

A.  It  is  a  preference  right  to  purchase 
the  tract  of  public  land  upon  which  the 
claimant  resides  and  has  made  improve¬ 
ments,  at  the  minimum  price  of  $1.25  or 


$2.50  per  acre,  as  the  case  may  be  ;  and  it 
carries  the  right  to  transmute  the  claim  into 
a  homestead,  upon  due  proof  of  settlement 
and  cultivation.  Pre-emptions  may  be  made 
upon  surveyed  or  unsurveyed  lands. 

Q.  In  casc^  of  the  abandonment  of  a 
Homestead,  can  a  settler  make  a  second  en- 
try  ?  » 

A.  No.  As  the  law  allows  but  one  home¬ 
stead  privilege,  a  settler  relinquishing  or 
!  abandoning  his  claim  cahnot  thereafter  make 
'  a  second  entry.  Where  an  individual  has 
'  made  settlementon  a  surveyed  tract  and  tiled 
his  pre-emption  declaration  therefor,  he  may 
change  his  filing  into  Homestead,  as  I  have 
just  stated;  yet  such  change  is  inadmissible 
where  an  adverse  right  has  intervened,  but 
in  such  cases  the  settler  has  the  privilege  of 
perfecting  his  title  under  the  pre-emption 
laws. 

Q.  Is  it  necessary  to  visit  the  Land  Of¬ 
fices  in  order  to  transact  the  business  re¬ 
quired  to  locate  lands  under  the  Homestead 
law  ? 

A.  Not  always.  Persons  residing  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  Land  Office  may  make  appli¬ 
cation  before  the  Clerk  of  the  County  Court 
in  which  he  or  she  resides,  and  transmit  the 
same,  with  the  necessary  fees,  to  the  Reg¬ 
ister  and  Receiver,  in  which  case  the  same 
forms  will  be  used,  only  making  the  neces¬ 
sary  alterations  as  to  the  officer  before  whom 
tho  affidavit  and  application  arc  made.  Pro¬ 
vision  is  also  made  for  those  engaged  in  the 
military  or  naval  service  of  the  United 
States.  Such  persons  may  enter  land  un¬ 
der  the  Homestead  Act  by  duly  authorized 
agents  or  attorneys.  The  necessary  affida¬ 
vits  and  applications,  as  well  as  the  power 
of  attorney,  must  he  verified  before  the  im¬ 
mediate  commanding  officer.  The  time 
which  ho  remains  in  the  service  will  be 
counted  as  residence  upon,  .and  occupancy 
of  the  land  ;  but,  upon  leaving  the  service, 
ho  must,  within  a  reasonable  time,  repair  to 
the  land  and  remain  upon  nnd  cultivate  the 
same  in  good  faith,  or  his  claim  will  become 
forfeited. 

Q.  At  the  commencement  of  our  conver¬ 
sation  you  spoke  of  the  law  being  so  amended 
as  to  ailow  those  who  were  enemies  of  the 
Government  during  the  late  rebellion  to  avail 
themselves  of  its  benefits  to  a  certain  extent. 
Will  you  please  explain  this? 

A.  With  pleasure.  The  Republican  party 
is  opposed  to  monopoly,  and  especially  so 
in  regard  to  a  monopoly  of  lands.  The  his¬ 
tory  of  our  government  has  shown  that  in 
the  Southern  States,  where  this  system  of 
land  monopoly  has  existed  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  in  any  other  section  of  our 


o 


country,  it  lias  greatly  retarded  the  progress, 
and  not  only  impoverished  the  limited 
amount  of  lands  cultivated,  but  greatly  im¬ 
poverished  and  oppressed  the  poorer  class 
of  its  citizens. 

Q.  But  why  extend  its  -benefits  to  those 
who  were  so  recently  in  rebellion  against 
its  authority  ? 

A.  Simply  because  the  greater  portion  of 
those  who  composed  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
late  rebel  army,  were  poor  men,  and  hun¬ 
dreds  and  thousands  of  them  were  forced 
into  the  service  and  made  to  fight  against  a 
Government  they  never  ceased  to  love  and 
revere.  -Here,  again,  you  should  be  reminded 
of  the  fact  that  the  Republican  party  is  a 
great  national  party,  that  it  is  in  no  way 
selfish  or  vindictive,  that  it  is  composed  of 
men  who  have  the  best  interests  of  all  the 
people  of  this  great  country  at  heart — men 
who  are  anxious  to  forgive  and  forget  all 
past  offences  where  sincere  repentance  is, 
manifested.  They  have  compared  and  con¬ 
trasted  the  Southern  States,  with  their  sys¬ 
tem  of  land  monopoly  and  slavery, with  those 
of*the  free  North,  where  the  land  is  divided 
up  into  small  farms;  and  while  they  have 
seen  the  former  every  year  retrograding, 
they  have  witnessed  the  latter  steadily  pro¬ 
gressing  in  wealth,  refinement,  civilization, 
—  indeed,  everything  that  tends  to  make  a 
people  bappy,  intelligent,  and  independent. 
In  order  to  give  these  poor  people  of  the 
South  an  opportunity  to  break  up,  as  far  as 
in  the  power  of  the  government  to  do  so,  the 
land  monopoly  system  which  has  so  long-op¬ 
pressed  them,  and  retarded  the  progress  of 
their  States,  it  was  only  necessary  to  abolish 
that  clause  of  the  act  which  requires 
the  applicant  to  swear  that  ho  had 
never  borne  arms  against  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  cause  it  to  ap¬ 
ply  to  the  public  lands  yet  belonging  to  the 
Government  in  the  States  of  Alabama,  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  and  Florida. 
This  was  done  in  the  Amendatory  Act,  ap¬ 
proved  March  21, 18G6. 

Q.  Were  any  other  amendments  made  in 
this  act  which  you  state  was  approved  March 
21,  1866? 

'  # 

A.  Yes.  The  first  section  of  this  supple¬ 
mental  act  restricted  entries  of  public  lands 
in  the  States  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Lou¬ 
isiana,  xirkansas,  and  Florida,  to  not  more 
than  a  half-quarter  section,  or  80  acres, when 
held  at  $1.25  per  acre.  Should  the  tract 
selected,  however,  be  $2.50  per  acre,  land 
only  half  that  quantity,  or  40  acres,  can  be 
entered  according  to  the  fixed  principle  in 


I  the  original  statute  of  1862,  the  law  impos¬ 
ing  this  restriction '  as  to  quantity  in  said 
States  for  two  years  from  its  passage.  Af¬ 
ter  the  expiration  of  that  time,  however, 
entries  as  to  quantity  will  be  governed  by 
the  provisions  of  the  1st  section  of  the  act 
of  May  20th,  1S66. 

w 

This  section  further  provides  that  the 
benefits  of  the  law  shall  be  extended  to  cit¬ 
izens  of  the  United  States  without  distinc¬ 
tion  or  discrimination  as  to  race  or  color, 
and  that  no  mineral  lands  shall  be  liable 
to  Homestead  entry  for  settlement,  under  its 
provisions.  In  lieu  of  the  $10  fee  required 
by  act  of  May  20th,  1862,  to  he  paid  at  the 
time  of  entry,  the  sum  of  $5  is  to  be  paid  at 
the  time  of  the  issue  of  the  patent.  The  com¬ 
missions  of  the  Register  and  Receiver 
shall  be  the  some  as  provided  for  in  the  acts 
of  May  20th,  1862,  and  March  21st,  1864, 
with  the  exception  of  the  States  of  Cal¬ 
ifornia,  Oregon,  Nevada,  andifche  Territo¬ 
ries  of  Washington,  Colarada,.  Idaho,  New 
Mexico,  and  Arizona,  where  50  per  centum 
is  added  to  the  fee3  of  the  officers  above 
named.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
fee  is  reduced  to  $5  only  where  the  entry 
shall  not  embrace  more  than  eighty  acres, 
held  at  $1.25  per  acre  ;  but  where  the  entry 
is  in  excess  of  that  quantity,  the  usual  fee 
of  $10  must  be  paid. 

Q.  You  have  spoken  of  Reserved  Rail¬ 
road  lands.  Are  there  not  some  such  in 
some  of  the  Southern  States  ? 

A.  Yes,  there  are  vast  quantities  of  very 
valuable  lands  in  some  of  these  States  which 
may  be  properly  classed  under  this  head.— 
In  Mississippi  there  are  2,612,120  acres ; 
in  Alabama,  3,729,120;  in  Florida,  2,310,- 
113  ;  in  Louisiana,  1,577,720  ;  in  Arkansas, 
2,880,027.  These  lands  were  donated  by 
Congress  in  1856,  to  the  States  in  which  they 
are  located,  for  railroad  purposes;  but  these 
States  having  failed  to  comply  with  the  law, 
by  building  railroads  within  the  time  stip¬ 
ulated,  (tan  years,)  the  grant  has  expired 
by  limitation.  These  vast  tracts  of  lands, 
therefore,  revert  to  the  government.  Hon. 
Geo.  W.  Julian,  Chairman  of  the  Commit¬ 
tee  on  Public  Lands,  in  the  lower  House  of 
Congress,  introduced,  at  the  last  session,  a 
bill  providing. for  the  retrocession  of  these 
lands  to  the  United  States.  Owing  to  the. 
shortness  of  the  session,  the  bill  was  not 
acted  upon;  but  it  will  no  doubt  be  taken  upf 
and  considered  the  next  session,  when  these 
valuable  lands  will  be  thrown  open  to  Home* 
stead  settlers. 


6 


Any  desired  information  in  relation  to  the 
Public  Lands  not  herein  contained,  may  be 
obtained  by  ■writing  to  the  Register  and  Re¬ 
ceiver  of  the  Land  Office  for  the  district  in 
which  the  lands  are  situated. 

The  Public  Lands  are  so  nearly  exhausted 
m  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois, 
that  no  desirable  locations  can  be  made  in 
those  States. 

The  quantity  of  Public  Lands  subject  to 
entry  under  the  Homestead  law  in  the  other 
States  and  Territories  is  about  one  hundred 
and  forty  millions  of  acres. 

In  the  five  Southern  land  States  the  whole 
of  the  public  domain  is  expressly  reserved 
for  the  occupation  of  the  Homestead  settler, 
and  is  located  as  follows  : 

In  Arkansas, .  9,298,012  acres. 

“  Alabama .  6,732,058  “ 

“  Florida . 19,379,035  “ 

“  Louisiana .  6.228,102  a 

11  Mississippi .  4,760,736  “ 

Total . 46,398,543  acres. 

The  United  States  owns  about  900,000,- 
000  of  acres  of  unsurveyed  land,  all  of 
which  will  be  free  to  the  Homestead  settler 
as  fast  as  the  lines  of  public  surveys  are  ex¬ 
tended  over  it. 


Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  benificent  policy 

of  the  Republican  party  offers  free  homes 
to  all  our  people  who  may  choose  to  reside 
upon  and  cultivate  them. 

The  140,000,000  of  acres  at  present  open 
to  the  Homestead  settler,  divided  into  farms 
of  160  acres  each  would  furnish  homes  for 
seven  hundred  thousand  families.  Suppos¬ 
ing  each  family  to  average  five  persons,  the 
free  homes  now  offered  to  the  landless  la¬ 
borers  of  the  nation  would  accommodate 
three  millions  five  hundred  thousand  per¬ 
sons. 

When,  the  nine  hundred  millions  of  acres 
of  unsurveyed  lands  shall  be  added  to  this 
munificent  concession  to  the  homeless,  six 
millions  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
families  will  each  have  been  offered  a  home 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  The  num¬ 
ber  of  families  multiplied  by  five, — the  av¬ 
erage  of  the  family — gives  thirty-one  mil¬ 
lions  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  per¬ 
sons;  a  number  nearly  equal  to  the  entire 
population  of  the  United  States.  There¬ 
fore,  it  may  with  truth  be  said,  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  through  the  benign  policy  of  the  Re¬ 
publican  party,  offers  homes  to  all  its  peo* 
pie. 


PRINTED  AT  THE  GREAT  REPUBLIC  OFFICE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


